Alteration: The Ripple Effect
by Akai Sera
Summary: On the night Rukia Kuchiki appears in Karakura, Ichigo is out visiting his mother's grave. When he returns to find an injured girl being treated in his home, he wants to know what's going on. Then her 'friends' show up looking for her, leaving everyone confused about something. Oh, and Renji's rookie literally unleashes Hell on Karakura. How is a human Ichigo supposed to fix this?
1. Death the Strawberry, a Hollow, and Luz

Ichigo Kurosaki was kneeling before a gravestone, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. The grey slate read, 'Masaki Kurosaki.' He set the flowers down and gave a sad smile, picking up a wilted bundle of snowdrops. Holding the dried bouquet to his chest, he stood slowly and ran his hand over the headstone. "Mom, it's been almost 6 years now... Karin and Yuzu are growing up. Though dad's still a child. We'll come see you soon. I'm sorry..."

With a slow sigh he raised his head, looking around at the resting place of Karakura's lost as the moon rose to cast its reflected light on the scene. Scattered along the pathway were flower petals strewn from various offerings, and though the cemetery was empty, it echoed with voices, some a whisper and others tinged with laughter. There were only a few spirits around today, and he bowed as he passed them, stowing the dead flowers in a trash can beside the path.

At Urahara Shop, Kisuke was studying a brown stuffed dog, examining the ears and paws. He set down the stuffed animal and put on his hat, standing up. "Not bad, if I say so myself~ Abarai! Come see my new creation." With a sigh, Renji appeared in the doorway, arms crossed and frowning. He was wearing a set of street clothes and didn't appear to be comfortable in his gigai. The stuffed lion sitting on his shoulder snapped, "Is it the mod soul you're trying to replace me with? Because Rukia could never resist a plush rabbit!" Kon crossed his arms and looked at the wall.

With a chuckle Urahara picked up the stuffed dog and tossed it to Renji, who caught it in both hands. "What's this?"

"He," Kisuke corrected, "Is Kize. I decided to use the rabbit design another time and go with this cute dog plushie I found. He is an artifical mod soul I created. Kize is able to use a gigai form rather than inhabiting a body, and can act as your backup in this mission. He even has his own zanpakuto!As a bonus, his gigai can be destroyed and he'll still survive, unlike your bodies, so you can use him as a shield! Though he'll still feel pain..." With a frown, the blonde shinigami added, "Maybe I should have added a modification for that..."

Kon studied the other Mod Soul suspiciously, asking, "So what's he for?"

Before Urahara could answer, an immense soul pressure fell over the area, blotting out the trace of Rukia that the group had been monitoring.

Renji's gaze snapped to the door and he muttered, "A hollow?"

"I think so. And by the feel of it, a strong one. You might want to check it out, but leave the rookie here."

"You mean Bainar?" Renji gave Kisuke a frown, adding, "I'm not babysitting that kid, so just keep her out of my way." Looking at the door, he called, "Luz! You're staying here while I take care of a hollow!" There was no response, and Renji's frown deepened. He flung open the door to the next room over, where Luz was supposed to be waiting for orders. A gigai was lying on the floor, dressed in the school uniform that was meant to be her disguise during their stay in Karakura. "She'd better not be doing what I think she's doing," he grumbled, slamming the door. "I'm heading out, Urahara..."

"Take Kize with you~ Have fun!"

With a sigh, Renji climbed out of his gigai, running out the door as Kize's gigai, a tall man with brown hair and slate grey eyes, stood to follow. Kon hopped on his shoulder and pointed at Renji. "Follow that redhead! Maybe we'll find my nee-san~"

A few blocks away, a shinigami with short, wavy orange hair was sprinting along the sidewalk, a hand on the hilt of the sword on her back. The red headband tied under her bangs fell just above her green right eye. Her left, a scarlet color, had a pair of scars over it. She dashed down the street, a frown plastered on her face. Renji's gonna be pissed, but it ain't my fault this thing's distractin'. An' I think Kuchiki's this way too...

Outside the Kurosaki Clinic, a large creature was charging at what appeared to be a teenage girl in black robes. The monster, a dark caricature of a human form, wore a white mask over its face. The girl's indigo eyes were fixed on the beast, and she drew a katana from the sheath tied to her white sash. The ends of her black, shoulder length hair were turned up slightly, and a strand fell across her nose, sticky with blood and dirt. Breathing hard, Rukia planted her feet on the road, holding up her blade defensively. Wounded and weakened, the girl stood her ground shakily, challenging the monster with a glare. "You won't... consume any more souls." As if laughing, the creature reared up and twisted its head, looking at her for a moment before charging recklessly toward her.

A blur of orange, red and black flew at the hollow just as Rukia was chanting a binding spell, and the chaotic scene was covered in blinding light.

Giving a sigh, Ichigo looked down the street at his home. The streetlamps splashed light along the path, but he could see through the windows that the lights were on in his house as well. "Dad's probably waiting up with dinner or something... Unless he has a patient, but this late on a monday night, who'd be out?" Voices buzzed from within the walls as he approached the porch; he recognized his father's and sisters', and it sounded like they were arguing. Ichigo swung the door open, expecting a surprise attack from Isshin as he stepped over the threshold. Rather than leap at him shouting, "You're hooome~" or "Ichigooooo," his dad remained with his back to the door, instead calling, "Close the door. There may be a wild animal out there." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Isshin's warning. A wild animal? Like what, a bear? He's crazy, there's nothing like that in this area... He was about to argue when he noticed the patient lying atop a sheet over the couch. "Dad? What-?"

"Karin and Yuzu went out to see if you were back yet since you stayed out a little late, and they called me outside because they'd found this girl. She's got a wound on her arm, like a wildcat's bite, and was just lying in the road when the girls found her."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Ichigo looked at the girl, who was still and silent. She looked to be around his age, but he didn't recognize her from school. And her clothes were kind of strange... His father gave a sigh and replied, "I think so. She'll need some time for that bite to heal, but I think in a matter of days she'll be as good as new. Of course she's going to have to stay with us while she's recuperating. Ichigo, you can sleep on the floor for a few days, right?"

"What?! You can't put her in my room! She's a girl! Why not room her with Yuzu or Karin?"

Isshin chuckled, shaking his head at his son's words. "Be a man, Ichigo! I couldn't make your sisters part with their beds, and of course she can't sleep in my room! It's only for a few days. And if you get uncomfortable you can come out here and sleep on the couch!"  
Ichigo glared at his dad, grumbling, "How come she can't sleep on the couch? I'll never get to sleep with her in there!" But his father was already gone, as was the girl, and he gave chase, calling, "Wait just a sec! Dad!"

((Notes: If you have any character requests, or pairing/shipping requests, including OC x canon if you like, just ask~ I haven't paired Date, Kize or Luz with anyone, so as long as it's within reason I can add a little romance. :) I do ship IchiRuki ordinarily, so unless there's an overwhelming request to split them up or pair them with others, there will be some of that later on. I know everyone hates OCs, but I only write fanfiction based on my OCs, because my stories are based on RPs I came up with using original characters. (And I don't feel like it's my own story when I'm using only someone else's characters.) Please don't hate on my lack of Bleach knowledge, this is an alternate version of Bleach, using what would happen if Rukia didn't turn Ichigo into a sub shinigami. So yeah, no rescue arc, though Soul Society will be used as a stage~  
And yes, I added Kon at the beginning. xP Just because I love his character.

OC Description: Luz- A hard-headed, tough talking initiate shinigami with short orange hair and a fang that shows when she smiles. Her talkative zanpakuto, Aiyashi, is her polar opposite and is constantly berating her broken speech and brash actions. She has one red eye and one green, with a double scar over the red (left).  
Date- A newly transferred student who has failed out of two high schools . He's laid back, lazy, and hates being told what to do. Date has messy black hair and yellow eyes, and when he's not in class, he's lazing around and chain-smoking. Girls are one thing that can pull him from his apathy. (You'll find out more about him later xP)  
Kize- A mod soul Urahara made for Luz, he's serious and protective. He has neatly groomed brown hair and grey eyes, and travels inside a stuffed dog.))


	2. Luz vs Renji vs Ichigo vs Kon: Arguing

Renji had scoured the streets for over half an hour, but there was no sight of Rukia, the hollow, or his rookie. With a sigh he closed his eyes, and the spiritual pressure of the hollow disappeared in a sharp burst. The lieutenant gave a start and headed toward the site of the disruption, leaving behind the man who'd been following him dutifully. In five minutes he was standing a few houses away from where Rukia was resting, and he glanced around cautiously, a hand on Zabimaru's hilt. He couldn't feel his friend's repressed reiatsu, but there was one of Captain level nearby. And since all Captains had to have their reiatsu sealed before visiting the Living World, it was likely a rogue shinigami. Renji sighed, scratching the back of his head. Bainar had to be around there somewhere, since she'd been following the same traces as him.

As he was trying to decide whether to look for his trainee or the source of the suspicious reiatsu, the orange haired newbie popped up from a pile of burned and busted trash cans. "Is 'e dead, Abarai?" she asked, standing up and dusting off her tattered shihakusho. Kon hopped off of the angry redhead's shoulder and ran over to Luz, each step squeaking. The girl grinned and picked up the mod soul, muttering, "I found Rukia." The lion plushie shouted, "My Nee-san! Where?" Renji frowned at the shinigami standing in the garbage. She couldn't be the source of that power level, but she appeared to be the only one near. "Yes, I'm pretty sure it was defeated. What are you doing in the trash?" he asked in annoyance.

Luz grinned and scratched her head sheepishly, giving a shrug. "I sorta got smacked inta it by that hollow. But I blasted 'im with my shikai, so 'e ain't gettin' back up!" She blinked and looked at the sidewalk, then at Isshin Kurosaki's house. "I think Rukia's in there... She was fightin' that thing, but she didn't look as strong as normal, so I jumped in an' took care o' the fight. Right when I got done fightin', these two girls came outta that house an' grabbed Rukia. I didn't even think they could see 'er, but..." She shrugged again, snickering, "Anyway, didja see the look on that hollow's face? It was awesome! The thing thought it was gonna win!" Renji frowned again, grumbling, "I obviously wasn't here to see that, Bainar. Why didn't you follow my orders?"

"Psht! I don't take orders from nobody! 'Cept maybe Cap'n Kuchiki an' Ukitake Taichou..." Renji rolled his eyes. He'd heard enough about those two from the short, scruffy shinigami to know exactly what she thought of them. Byakuya Kuchiki was her idea of a bossy, mean-spirited jerk who wanted to see her fail at everything. Every time he'd given her orders, she'd thrown them back in his face by doing more than necessary and generally destroying non-target items in the process. Ukitake, on the other hand, was the girl's idol. She had a fascination with Gense and humans, and wanted more than anything to be part of Squad 13. Because of that she also looked up to Rukia, but she seemed to Renji to have more than respect for Ukitake. She was always going on about what he'd have done to fix a situation, or how he was so honorable and kind to everyone and a role model, yadda yadda yadda. Renji was tired of her attitude. Sure, she followed the orders of Captains, but if anybody else told her what to do she'd go off on them or start yelling at her zanpakuto like they were college roommates. "Listen Bainar, I don't care what you do when we get back to Soul Society. But if you want to join a squad, you need to tone down the lone wolf crap, and I'm not going to take responsibility for you if you do something stupid again."

Luz gave her superior an accusing glare, shouting, "Again!? When did I do somethin' stupid in the first place, Eyebrows!? I got 'ere an' saved Rukia's ass while you were worryin' about Urahara!" She crossed her arms, letting Kon sit on her shoulder, and frowned at Renji, challenging him to answer. "If you haven't done anything stupid, why d'you have those scars on your left eye? And if you're going to claim you defeated a hollow with one shikai attack without getting hurt, you'll have to prove it," he snapped. Luz stomped over to Renji, her mismatched eyes glaring, and looked up at the much taller shinigami. "I dunno how I got 'em, stupid. I had these before I c'n remember. All I know is I made it out alive, so whatever I was fightin' way back then didn't! An' I dare ya ta find one wound from this fight!" Renji sighed and grabbed the edge of the girl's left sleeve, pulling it up to reveal a large purple bruise. "That does _not_ count, Abarai!" He scowled, poking Luz in the side, where her shihakusho was torn and bloodied. She promptly became unbalanced and fell over. "Ow, what'd ya do that for, stupid!? That was obvious!" she growled from the asphalt.

"Then why did you challenge me, you moron!?" The ginger shinigami clutched her side and squirmed on the ground, shouting, "I didn't think ya'd poke me! I was hopin' ya wouldn't notice so I could rub it in your face that you're an idiot!"

"Who's the idiot? You're the one bleeding everywhere and being stupid! How'd you even get bit on the side? Did you get smashed into the ground and picked up in the thing's mouth?! You think you're tough, but you're such a weakling!"

"Oh yeah!? I will take you, right now! Put up your blade an' let's go! I'll even give ya a three second head start while I get up!" Renji shook his head and grabbed Luz by the back of her kosode, dragging her up to a standing position. "Calm down, Bainar. Remember, you need my recommendation after this mission to be considered for acceptance into Squad 13." The girl stopped squirming and grumbling, and her superior let go of her kosode, motioning toward the Kurosaki house. "Let's take a look and see if Rukia's in there." The two walked up to the window cautiously, Kon peering around worriedly while the others scanned the interior of the house. "I don't see anythin'... Just some funny lookin' ginger kid with an angry face... Come ta think of it, I think i saw 'im walkin' down the street a couple'a minutes ago."

"Like you're one to talk about funny looking gingers. You look like a carrot-top Ichimaru!"

"Take that back, ya weakling!"

"You're the weakling!"

"Wanna fight?!"

"Excuse me..." The two turned slowly to the door, where Yuzu Kurosaki was standing and looking at the arguing shinigami with a frown. "Are you two with that girl? You have the same robes..." Luz turned to Renji, whispering, "She can see us... Do we run?" Renji shook his head quickly. If this girl was talking about Rukia, they needed to see her. "Yes, we are. May we see her? We're Rukia's friends. I'm Renji, and this is B- Luz..." Yuzu nodded, then opened the door wider and smiled. "In that case, please come in. We just put her to bed, and she isn't awake yet, but you can see her. If you aren't staying nearby, I'm sure you two could spend the night here and talk to her when she wakes up." As they entered the house, Isshin walked into the living room from the hall, glancing at the two before giving a wide smile. "Luz! Long time no see. How've you been all these years?"

"Do I know you?" she asked, creeped out by the familiar greeting and use of her name. Isshin frowned poutily, sighing, "You forgot me already? It's Isshin!" He pointed at himself with a grin. "Of course I still look the same, but you've changed. I like the battle scars, but what's with the red eye? And your hair's even shorter!" Luz scooted back a step, mumbling, "You got the wrong person, Isshin... I never met ya, an' anywho, if ya did know me, you'd hafta be a-" She glanced at Yuzu, who was going back to her task of preparing dinner. "Who are ya really?" Again Isshin gave a pouting frown. "How do you not remember me? I trained you when you first graduated the academy! I remember when you were only this high! Well you're still only that high, but still!" Luz shook her head, replying, "I did just graduate, a few weeks ago. Look, I lost some mem'ries a while back, 'n' maybe you were in 'em, but ya couldn't have trained me. Other people woulda remembered me. I was found in Rukongai an' brought ta the Gotei with my shihakusho and zanpakuto, an' nobody said they knew me."

Isshin stared at Luz, then glanced at Renji. "I don't think we've met, but you have a lieutenant's badge. Working for Kuchiki, huh? That's fun." He looked back at Luz, adding, "If you need some help with the memory issue, I'm sure Kisuke can come up with something-" Luz's blade was against Isshin's neck, and she glared at him, whispering, "How do you know Urahara?" With a laugh, the man pushed her sword down with a finger, shrugging. "He's an old friend, from my Gotei 13 days. If you really don't know me it'll take a long time to explain. I'm a doctor, so I've already taken care of the girl's shoulder. Why don't you go check on your friend, introduce yourselves to my kids, and stay for dinner? After we eat I'll tell you anything you need to know." Luz frowned at Renji, asking, "Whattaya wanna do?" The shinigami stood up and bowed. "That's fine. Which room is Rukia in?" As Isshin pointed out Ichigo's room, there was a knock at the door. Yuzu called, "I've got it," and opened the door to see a man with brown hair and grey eyes standing rigidly on the doorstep, dressed in a shihakusho. "Ah, I'm looking for Renji and Luz?" With a sigh the girl invited the fourth guest in, calling, "He's here for the two in the kimono."

Renji gave an embarrassed laugh, waving to Kize. "Sorry I forgot about you. I ran off to find this idiot." He pointed at Luz, who glared at the other shinigami before glancing at the mod soul. "Who's this?" The red-haired shinigami frowned, replying, "His name is Kize. He's a mod soul Urahara made for you. You would know that if you'd followed orders." Luz growled, "I'd also know it if ya hadn't left 'im behind... So 'e's like Kon then?" Kon, who'd been playing the part of a stuffed toy, spoke up. "Not exactly. Rather than being stored in spare gigai, he's made for the one he's in. Kize's basically a homemade shinigami. Though his stuffed animal body is a dog, and he seemed to act like one when he was following us." Luz grinned, obviously amused by the information, and started petting Kize's hair. "Who's a good mod soul?" Kize sighed and grabbed her wrist, moving the hand away from his now messy hair, and the girl cringed, pulling away her bruised arm. "I landed on that," she grumbled, checking out the color of the bruise.

Renji had already gone back to Ichigo's room, and was standing next to the bed Rukia was resting in, talking to the unconscious girl. "It doesn't look too bad, huh? Good thing we found you before another hollow did..." He trailed off, taking a seat on the edge of the bed to get a better look at his friend's injuries. "You should be able to tell us how you got separated from us tomorrow. Just rest and get better, okay?" He put a hand on her hair, smiling. "Kize, Luz, Kon and I are going to be right here until you get up. And we'll keep Kon out of here while you're asleep." He stood and walked back into the living room to find Luz passed out on the couch with Kize and Ichigo freaking out for totally different reasons. The orange-haired boy was shouting at his dad. "I go to the bathroom and when I get back there's another girl in a weird outfit bleeding all over our couch!? Where'd you find this one? And who's the quiet guy and the weirdo in the ponytail?" Renji resented being called a weirdo, and reminded himself to insult Ichigo later before walking over to Kize to calm him down. "I didn't mean to! I just asked to see her wound, and when she took her sheath and kosode off there was blood all over the shitagi, and- did I kill her? What do we do?"

"Stop panicking, Kize. She's fine. Luz always takes forever to feel the effects of a fight. That's why she wins bar fights. It's not your fault she finally passed out. Calm down and help me bandage her..." He stopped, looking at the site of the wound. He knew from earlier wardrobe malfunctions that Luz wore bandages over her chest in place of an undershirt, and if those bandages were blood soaked, they'd have to be changed. "Never mind. This Isshin guy's a doctor, right? Let's let him take care of this." Kon, who was sitting on the arm of the couch, added, "I'll stay right here and observe the... procedure." Renji glared at the mod soul, grabbing him by the tail. "You're coming with me. Kize, you too. Isshin, can you take care of that?" he asked, pointing at Luz with his free hand. "Of course. It's actually not the first time she's been a patient of mine, though it is the first time in Gense." Isshin shooed the younger men out while he checked out Luz's injuries. "Yuzu, I'm going to need the big roll of bandages, antibiotics, and a beer!" His daughter sighed, "You shouldn't drink on the job, dad," at which he laughed. "That's smart of you, but it wasn't for me. I get the feeling this girl will want one when she wakes up," he chuckled. "Is she even of drinking age?" Yuzu inquired, already bringing him the first-aid kit. Isshin nodded, replying, "She's older than she looks, believe me."

Renji, Kize, and Ichigo sat on the floor of Ichigo's room. The shinigami was frowning at Ichigo, who was looking at both Kize and Renji with distrust. Kize was staring at the door, unaware of the staring match that had started between Ichigo and Renji. Kon, totally having given up on pretending to be inanimate, asked, "So now what? Guys night in? Can we at least play a game or something? This silence is killing me!" Ichigo stared at Kon for a moment before snapping, "I knew you people weren't normal! What's with the talking teddy bear?"

"I am a lion!" Kon shouted, insulted by the title. "Whatever, lion, bear, you're still a stuffed animal. I've seen weirder things than you, but less annoying. How come you people in black are the only ones coming in with injuries? Is someone targeting you guys? And what're the uniforms for?" Renji frowned at him, sighing. If these people could all see shinigami, something was going on in Karakura that he had to tell the Captains about. He looked at Ichigo and sighed, "I think your father's going to have to explain that."


End file.
